Top 25 Primetime Animated Series of All Time

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We crown the animated champion! Is it Futurama? Beavis and Butt-Head? The Simpsons? Family Guy? Read on.

By IGN TV

Animated fare has always been woven through the fabric of television, but until recent times, it has not always been easy to find during prime time hours. The Flintstones introduced America and the world to the concept. It wasn't until The Simpsons, however, that animated shows really started getting their due in the public eye. Flowing from the success of shows like The Simpsons, MTV and Cartoon Network started putting animation in front of folks on the regular. Now, stations like FOX have entire nights dedicated to an animated line-up. We decided to give cartoons their due and pick the top 25 animated series ever to appear in a primetime slot.

It should be noted that this list contains no anime (that's for a different list) and obviously no Saturday morning cartoons (ditto). We'll be sharing our thoughts on those two groups soon enough&#Array; until then sit back, grab a brew, and get your poison fingers ready to type emails of hatred. We present: The Top 25 Primetime Animated Series EVAR!

25. The Jetsons Hanna-Barbera's The Jetsons premiered in 1962, two years after the similarly themed The Flintstones first aired. While the Flintstones were a "modern Stone Age family," George Jetson and family lived in a whimsical, futuristic society based on the mid-century modern American lifestyle complete with household robots and flying cars. Many of the show's people, places and things had pun names -- the same convention applied on The Flintstones, but with a futuristic twist. And while The Jetson's premise was somewhat derivative, it became hugely popular and earned its place in the pantheon of classic animated TV shows. -BL

24. Aqua Teen Hunger Force Currently one of Adult Swim's most popular programs is Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Pitched in December of 2000 with the hilarious pilot episode "Rabbot", Aqua Teen was quickly picked up for late 2001; leading to a new found popularity in the adult based animation. Following the adventures of Master Shake, Frylock, and Meatwad, Aqua Teen ditches the conventional superhero roles and lets these human sized fast food products waste time instead. Whereas these three detectives should be solving crimes and fighting evil, we are more apt to see them in their neighbor's pool - without permission. This idea of slacker heroes (that are pretty big jerks) and unconventional bad guys (like the two-dimensional Mooninites) being shot out in quick ten minute cartoons, made this the show to watch for those with attention deficit that were deprived of meaningless comedy. -DI

23. Spawn: The Animated Series Todd McFarlane's Spawn, based on the comic of the same name, ran from 1997-1999 on HBO, winning an Emmy for Outstanding Animation Program in 1999. The series, with its dark, violent tone and superb storytelling, was immediately embraced by fans who had mostly shunned McFarlane's attempt at adapting his cult hit comic for the big screen. The story follows a government trained assassin who is murdered and brought back to life after making a deal with the devil in hopes of exacting revenge on his killer and seeing his beloved wife again. Heaven and Hell battle for Spawn's soul as he wanders the streets protecting the innocent. All the while he must come to grips with his tragic fate and the fact that he's lost his wife to a man to an old friend. On top of being a fanboy sensation, the show's critical success did much to legitimize "adult animation" in American popular culture during the late 1990s. -BL

22. Invader Zim Invader Zim is a short-lived animated series created by comic artist and writer Jhonen Vasquez. The show, which is darker in tone than most of the stuff shown on Nickelodeon, was cancelled by the network when it wasn't rating well with younger viewers. But Zim, which tracks the exploits of a short, green alien bent on conquering the Earth, has gone on to enjoy a long post-Nick life on MTV2. The uniquely stylized animation and quirky humor have made Invader Zim a cult hit. -BL

21. Sealab 2021 Continuing the Adult Swim trend of repurposing old animation in new and freakin' hilarious ways, Sealab 2021 took footage from the old Hanna-Barbera series Sealab 2020 and used it to create a wacky bouillabaisse of characters and situations for four seasons. The 12-minute episodes focused on the crew of the famed lab, one year after the events of 2020. The show managed to maintain its edge throughout its rather short life, doling out deep-sea laughs at the expense of the insane Captain Hank Murphy and his ragtag crew of perverse but lovable seamen (and women). -CC